The small city-state of Singapore counts the highest number of millionaire households relative to its population: 188,000, or 17.1 percent. Singapore has long been the place of business in East Asia for the financial-services industry and is one of the largest centers for offshore banking. One of its wealthiest inhabitants, 30-year-old Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, gained notoriety this month, when, prior to the social network’s public offering on the Nasdaq, it was publicized that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship last year.
// Yoyo.. Singapore the richest country ? 17 % of their citizen is millionaire..

2. Qatar
Population: 1.9 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 14.3%
Qatar has the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves and will host soccer’s FIFA World Cup in 2022. It also counts about 47,000 millionaire households among its inhabitants. Oil and gas exports account for more than 50 percent of GDP and help to provide the Gulf state with the highest per-capita income after Liechtenstein. The Qatari ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, is also its richest inhabitant.

3. Kuwait
Population: 3.6 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 11.8%
Kuwait owns about 7 percent of world oil reserves, and oil exports account for about 95 percent of export revenue. The government announced in 2010 that it would spend $130 billion in the next five years to move the economy away from oil dependency and diversify its private sector. Kuwait has about 63,000 millionaire households, with the Alghanim and al Kharafi families being the country’s richest.

4. Switzerland
Population: 7.7 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 9.5%
Besides being home to 322,000 millionaire households, Switzerland also boasts the highest proportion of ultra-high-net-worth families in the world: 11 households per 100,000 have more than $100 million in private financial wealth. The euro debt crisis is affecting the Alpine nation: Its GDP growth slowed to 2.1 percent in 2011. It also faces pressure from the European Union and the U.S. to reform its banking secrecy laws. Switzerland’s, and Europe’s, richest person is Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish founder of Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer.

5. Hong Kong
Population: 7.2 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 8.8%
Hong Kong is home to the largest number of billionaires and to about 212,000 millionaire households. The former British colony is, together with Singapore, East Asia’s international hub for finance, trade, real estate and transportation. Hong Kong’s economic growth slowed to 5 percent in 2011, with inflation rising by 5.3 percent. Hong Kong’s, and Asia’s, wealthiest man is Li Ka-Shing, who oversees the diversified conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and real estate company Cheung Kong Holdings.

6. United Arab Emirates
Population: 322.4 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 5.0%
Of the seven members of the Gulf state, no emirate was hit harder by the global financial turmoil than Dubai, the financial and transport hub of the Middle East. Dubai was on the brink of default in 2009 due to heavy exposure to the imploding real estate market. The emirate survived solely through central bank intervention. The seven emirates count about 57,000 millionaire households, the majority of millionaires being Western expats based in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. The richest inhabitants are members of the al Ghurair family, who, through their namesake group, hold stakes in banking, malls and manufacturing.

7. U.S.
Population: 322.4 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 4.3%
The U.S., with the largest economy in the world, counted the largest number of millionaire households in 2011: 5.13 million, down about 129,000 from 2010. In 2011, the country, which has about 15 individuals ranked on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, nearly defaulted on its government debt, saw a downgrade of its credit rating and was affected by the fallout of the euro debt crisis. America’s richest man is Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, with a fortune of about $60 billion.

8. Israel
Population: 7.8 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 3.6%
Israel’s booming technology business is fueling the livelihood of the country’s 83,000 millionaire households. Other key export items include diamonds and agricultural products. The wealthiest Israelis are the Ofer brothers, Idan and Eyal, who inherited their father’s shipping fortune and art collection following Samy Ofer’s death in June 2011.

9. Taiwan
Population: 23.2 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 3.2%
Taiwan counted 246,000 millionaire households in 2011. The island, whose economy relies heavily on the export of electronics, machinery and petrochemicals, has largely recovered from the recession and saw its GDP rise by 5.2 percent in 2011. The richest Taiwanese is Tsai Wan-Tsai, who owns publicly listed Fubon Financial Holding.

10. Bahrain
Population: 1.3 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 3.2%
Bahrain, an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf, became a center of global attention after the 2011 Arab Spring sparked riots and repression in the oil-rich state. The protests underlined tension between Bahrain’s Shiite majority and wealthier Sunni governing elite. Bahrain has 8,000 millionaire households. Its diversified economy, which for “only” 60 percent on oil exports, further includes aluminum, finance and construction. The country’s richest inhabitants are the royal family, headed by King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa.

As Japan is slowly recovering from the nuclear fallout following the March 2011 earthquake, the country saw its number of millionaire households decline to 1,587,000 last year. Better news on the country’s economy this year: Japan’s gross domestic product expanded faster than estimated in the first quarter of 2012, rising 4.1 percent. Japan’s richest man is Tadashi Yanai. The founder of clothing retailer Uniqlo is worth more than $11 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

12. Belgium
Population: 10.4 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 2.9%
2011 was the year that Belgium, after 541 days of negotiations, finally got a new government. Despite the prolonged political impasse and the ongoing euro debt crisis, the country still counts about 134,000 millionaire households among its inhabitants. Belgium’s richest man is Albert Frere, owner of closely held conglomerate Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille, whose diversified holdings stretch from oil to media.

13. Oman
Population: 2.8 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 2.5%
The sultanate of Oman, the 24th-largest oil-exporting nation in the world, counted about 12,000 millionaire households among its inhabitants in 2011. With declining oil reserves and a rapidly growing labor force, the question is whether the Persian Gulf state will be able to keep its number of millionaire families growing. The monarch of Oman, Qaboos bin Said al Said, and his family are believed to be the nation’s richest individuals.

14. Ireland
Population: 4.8 million
Percentage of millionaire households: 2.2%
Ireland may be the land of Guinness beer but its wealthiest inhabitant is mobile phone mogul Denis O’Brien. After four years of severe austerity measures, Ireland’s economy is slowly coming back on track. Despite the economic carnage and an unemployment rate that remains above 14 percent, Ireland still has more millionaires per capita than any other country in Europe except Belgium. The country’s millionaire households numbered about 33,000.

The fortunes of the richest Dutch families are not too affected by the turmoil of the debt crisis ravaging the euro zone’s economy. Although the country dipped back into a recession, and its economy shrank by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, it still boasted about 152,000 millionaire households last year. Its considerable trade surplus and central role as Europe’s transportation hub make a strong economy and keep the millionaires afloat. The richest person of Dutch descent, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index is beer heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, who oversees a fortune of more than $7 billion.